This invention relates generally to the field of dispensing devices for substantially flat card-like articles of relatively small dimension, typically, impregnated paper cards carrying the scent of a particular perfume or toilet water which may be sampled at the display counter of a store. Devices of this general type are known in the art, and the invention lies in specific constructional details which provide improved facility in operation while minimizing wastage.
In many prior art devices of this type, both construction and operation are relatively simple. The cards are positioned in a substantially vertical stack within a container, with a dispensing opening adjacent a bottom wall for the insertion of a finger to frictionally engage a lower surface of the bottom card in the stack and move it through the opening. The cards are fed under the action of gravity, or in some cases, a lid is provided on its lower surface with resilient means to urge the stack downwardly.
While such structures are suitable for dispensing such articles as ordinary business cards, or individual cards used in playing a board game or the like, such articles as perfume impregnated cards are relatively expensive to manufacture, and simple dispensers lend themselves to multiple extraction by customers who might prefer to obtain a small assortment of perfumes without actual purchase. When this occurs, the dispensing device is quickly emptied, and if not relatively promptly refilled, its primary function is disabled.
It is known in the art to provide for the dispensing of individual towels from a roll or web of material in which the user is required to perform a manual operation in order to cause a length of the towel to protrude from the dispenser where it can be manually grasped prior to tearing the same from the web. In some cases, a time delay mechanism forms part of the mechanism, so that only one piece of tiling may be retracted over a short period of time. Such devices are suitable where the dispenser is permanently mounted upon a wall or other surface, and may require a source of electric power for operation. By contrast, countertop devices are best wholly contained to facilitate portability and relocation upon a countertop.